Never one to let us be bored for too long, Elon Musk is back today with his latest audacious bet on the future of transportation.
At 1:30 p.m. Eastern (Update: 3:45 p.m. Eastern), Musk’s SpaceX is scheduled to test launch its Falcon Heavy rocket. It’s the first time for this new generation, which boasts 27 Merlin engines compared to the mere 9 packed into SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
The goal with Falcon Heavy is to develop a rocket that can lift massive amounts of cargo into space. Its capacity of 119,000 pounds is twice as large as the capacity of most rockets that carry payloads.
So what’s it carrying? Naturally, Musk has placed a Tesla inside. Because, why not? The vehicle itself will contain a human dummy dressed in a SpaceX suit. The rocket will hurl the Tesla into space, where it is supposed to eventually drift into orbit around Mars.
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You can watch the livestream of the liftoff above and follow SpaceX’s Twitter feed for launch updates. It’s not unusual for there to be minor delays as adjustments are made:
The first test flight of Falcon Heavy is targeted for Tuesday, Feb. 6th at 1:30 PM ET from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When Falcon Heavy lifts off, it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. https://t.co/jzv975xKB0 pic.twitter.com/yAVGdXJjEs
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 6, 2018
To get an overall scope of the what Musk has in mind, check out the conceptual video above.
